Sicilian Lasagna with Peas & Sausage

Love lasagna, but hate ricotta cheese? Or maybe you hate lasagna because you hate ricotta cheese. It’s flavorless and kind of gross looking, right? If that’s how you feel, then hoo boy, do I have news for you.

Real Sicilian lasagna doesn’t use ricotta cheese.

Mind blown, right?

Well, OK, maybe that’a stretch. But it’s pretty exciting for us! Ricotta cheese is something my husband has been fighting against for YEARS. I never minded it, but it did always seem a little expensive for something that doesn’t bring much to the table.

And then.

When Zach was in grad school, the university hired a new professor from Sicily. At a party later that year, she brought a homemade lasagna. They got into a conversation about American versions of Italian foods, and Zach mentioned how much he hates ricotta. Then she did something that excited him: she scrunched her face up in disgust and told him real Italian food doesn’t use ricotta. And Italians balk at the idea of adding it, apparently. It makes them want to cry.

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, she also added peas to it. I’m all for sneaking vegetables into the food I”m going to be eating anyway. (I can’t possibly be alone in this.)

When he came home with this revelation, I knew I had to try it. I had no recipe, but I did have my Mom’s. So I got the regular ingredients for that and made the necessary changes.

And now there is no turning back. This lasagna is SO good. So I’m sharing the recipe with you.

Sicilian Lasagna with Peas & Sausage

1 lb ground meat (chicken, turkey, or beef)

1 lb ground mild Italian sausage

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried basil leaves

1 can pasta sauce

2 bags shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups grated Parmesan

1 bag frozen peas

lasagna noodles

Step 01: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the ground chicken with the seasonings and brown on medium-high heat. Drain and dump into a mixing bowl. Don’t add anything to the sausage, but brown it, drain it, and put it in the bowl with the chicken. Add the peas, 1 bag of mozzarella cheese, and 1 cup of Parmesan. Mix and add the sauce. Mix again.

Instructions

Step 01: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the ground chicken with the seasonings and brown on medium-high heat. Drain and dump into a mixing bowl. Don’t add anything to the sausage, but brown it, drain it, and put it in the bowl with the chicken. Add the peas, 1 bag of mozzarella cheese, and 1 cup of Parmesan. Mix and add the sauce. Mix again.

That was a typo. I didn’t have the chance to double-check this before it posted. -_- It’s supposed to be “mild.” (Also, I typed “milk” in my response and had to change it again. I’m failing at this whole typing thing. -_-) Enjoy the lasagna! 😀

It’s funny because I don’t really think of peas when I think of Italian, but there is an Italian restaurant in town run by a (real!) Italian and there are peas in a lot of his dishes. Of course they are all delicious too. I am going to have to give this a try!

There’s a Mexican restaurant nearby that does the same thing–peas in the burritos. It’s really good! A lot of our interpretations of other cultures’ foods tend to be incorrect (though still delicious), so it doesn’t surprise me much anymore. Let me know what you think of the recipe!! 🙂